Ga. state senator calls on state to withdraw from Common Core

ATLANTA — A Georgia state senator on Tuesday said he wants the state to withdraw from its participation in Common Core national standards and forgo any testing associated with these standards.

“Today, I had the opportunity to join many Georgians from around the state at the “Stop the Common Core” Rally at the State Capitol,” state Sen. William Ligon, R-Brunswick, said in a statement. “I am looking forward to the day when Georgia is out of the Common Core and our state asserts its complete autonomy over our own educational decisions.”

Ligon, who held a rally today at the Georgia State Capitol. is sponsoring two bills he says will reassert Georgia’s constitutional autonomy over education.

Senate Bill 203, “An Act to Restore Educational Authority to Georgia Citizens,” would provide a process for the state to withdraw the state from Common Core and would create the Curriculum Content Standards Advisory Council, which is to be comprised of 24 members, including parents, teachers and college professors, to advise the State Board of Education on revising and adopting content standards. The measure would also allow school systems the local option to conform their curriculum and instruction to the previous Georgia Performance Standards while the process of revising math and English language arts standards occurs over the next two years.

Senate Bill 167, “The Student Right to Privacy Act,” would protect personally identifiable student information. The bill strictly delineates the limited categories of data that can be collected and disclosed without parental consent and requires written consent for any other data-collection or data-disclosure.

SB 167, according to Ligon, prohibits the use of any student records for commercial purposes. It ensures that state agencies, local districts, and education institutions must disclose the nature of the information that they collect on students and give parents access to those records. It also prohibits the use of funds for constructing and maintaining any data system that is designed to systematically collect records on students beyond their K-12 and college education.

“I would specifically like to thank Gov. Nathan Deal for hearing the concerns of parents throughout the state, and I look forward to working with him to achieve the highest possible standards for Georgia students,” Ligon said. “We’re optimistic that the Georgia General Assembly will have a bill that addresses the concerns of parents, and does the right thing for the students of this state.”